Neuter Gone Wrong? Help!

[Srecko]

Hi everyone, yesterday I had my 6 month old male rabbit neutered. The vet said to let them know if any swelling happens, as it may be the seminal fluids draining back into the testes. I check his privates yesterday post surgery and they looked deflated, as I'm assuming is normal. And then today I checked them again and they're swollen and filled with fluid. I'm worried! Any of you familiar with regular neuters, do you have any insight? This is my first experience.:nerves1

Thanks so much,

Danae

 

[Watermelons]

A photo would help. Really hard to tell if this "swollen and filled with fluid" is normal or not with out seeing it.

 

[Imbrium]

I believe it's common for there to be some swelling... as Watermelons said, we'd really need a photo to be able to gauge whether or not things looked normal.

Have you called the vet? After I got my girls spayed, I called with some follow-up questions the next morning - I'm glad I did, as I got good advice and it also put my mind at ease (I was really worried that they still weren't eating on their own, but then I was told it can take up to 24-36h for the lingering nausea from the anesthesia to wear off completely). Your vet is definitely the best source of information!

 

[Chrisdoc]

Without photos difficult to tell. When I had my three neutered two were Ok but Houdini still had somecswelling after the first couple of days, the felt quite hard so took him to the vet and he said it was normal and would disappear after a couple of days. I would say that if you are really worried take him back just to make sure.

 

[Srecko]

Thank you guys! And thanks for the tip about the eating food... My boyfriend and I were worried as to how little he's been eating. Okay here's a picture of what he looks like right now.

 

[Srecko]

 

[Imbrium]

If he's eating very little on his own, you *do* want to supplement his eating by syringe-feeding Critical Care or a pellet slurry and/or by offering him extra of his favorite foods - my vet said it was ok to let my girls eat whatever they wanted, just for that day, because what was important was getting them eating (ie they could have extra fruit instead of the normal 1 tsp per 2 lbs body weight). It's like giving a kid with a sore throat lots of ice cream . As long as he's not really sensitive to sugars (ie he has issues even with the normally allowed amounts), you can give him some extra fruit or fruit-flavored preservative free baby food to tempt him into eating more.

As for the pics... I've never gotten a male neutered, but the pictures don't look like cause for concern to me. I could be wrong, mind you, but it doesn't look like anything is significantly wrong. Since the vet did say to call if there was swelling, that's still a good idea, though. We've got a lot of people here who have been through a neuter, so I'm sure one of them will be along at some point to give you a more educated opinion .

 

[Watermelons]

if he is still eating SOMETHING, please don't syringe feed. Syringing is serious stress on an all ready stressed bunny. Do your best to encourage him to eat/drink more, add some apple juice to a bowl of water for him, offer him some extra yummy food, make his hay more exciting, etc. But not so much with the sugary items....

His manhood looks fine. It may be a bit larger before it starts it raisin up.
Keep an eye on it, and check that incision spot. Feel free to post photos of it every now and then to double check.

 

[Chrisdoc]

Yes looks ok to me if only done yesterday. Try and temp him with something he really likes either veggies, herbs or fruit just to get him eating. If the swelling hasn't gone down after 4-5 days then maybe get him checked. You will probably see some improvement in him tomorrow.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

If in doubt, I always call the vet. Things can go sideways so darn quickly. We just lost our little 3 year old boy Saturday evening with absolutely no sign or warning--totally devastated.

 

[Srecko]

Great advice - thanks so much guys. My boyfriend gave him some banana and he ate it up! It must have opened up his appetite because then he started munching on hay. We'll keep a close eye. I'll post another picture in a few days.

Do any of you have experience with a neuter not having a positive effect on dominance issues? In other words, I'm worried he'll still mark his territory around the house even now that he's neutered. How long in your experience did it take for the testosterone to settle down?

 

[Srecko]

If in doubt, I always call the vet. Things can go sideways so darn quickly. We just lost our little 3 year old boy Saturday evening with absolutely no sign or warning--totally devastated.

SO sorry to hear that, Nancy. that's a fear of mine, to have him just pass away. I've never had a rabbit before, it's crazy how sensitive rabbits are sometimes.